Power distributors may be used in vehicle technology, in particular in motor vehicle technology, as a kind of node for the electrical onboard power system of the vehicle. Such a power distributor of a vehicle may comprise multiple terminals for the electrically conductive connection to consumers of the vehicle and/or to one or more wiring harnesses. Such a power distributor moreover may comprise various electrical and/or electronic components, such as protective devices, relays or switching elements, to control certain vehicle functions, to switch the same, or the like. These electrical and/or electronic components may be disposed on a printed circuit board populated in advance as needed.
Depending on the design, such a power distributor of a vehicle can comprise one or more busbars, which may be produced from a metal material having comparatively good electrical conductivity and good thermal conductivity, for example. The respective busbar may include one or more pins, which may also be designed in one piece with the respective busbar using a machining or cutting manufacturing method.
Such a power distributor furthermore may include a housing into which the respective busbar, together with the pins, is inserted or insert injection-molded. In this way, the pins are may be optionally disposed in a stationary manner in the housing. The housing may be produced from a plastic material, which may allow the power distributor to be disposed outside a vehicle interior, for example in the vicinity of an engine compartment of a vehicle.
To assemble or subassemble the power distributor, the previously populated printed circuit board can be mounted onto the one or more pins disposed in the housing. For an electrically conductive and/or thermally conductive connection of the printed circuit board to the one or more pins, these may be soldered to the printed circuit board when the printed circuit board is installed, which thereby mounts the printed circuit board. Due to the soldering temperature that is required for this purpose, heat may be introduced into the housing of the power distributor when the pins are soldered to the printed circuit board. This heat input may be controlled by way of the number of intended soldering areas and/or the soldering duration or soldering intervals only to a limited extent. It may therefore be necessary to select or design the plastic material of the housing of the power distribution such that the same has a sufficiently high melting temperature so as not to be damaged when the pins are soldered to the printed circuit board.
While from a functional perspective such a power distributor can be used comparatively well in vehicle technology, the material selection and/or the assembly or manufacturing process may be comparatively complex. With respect to the material costs and/or manufacturing costs, a desire therefore may exist for a more cost-effective design of a power distributor.